High chair attachment for step stools



Dec. 6, 1960 M. HYMAN 2,963,076

' HIGH CHAIR ATTACHMENT FOR STEP STOOLS Filed April 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. //?V//V6 M. flYM/M Dec. 6, 1960 1. M. HYMAN HIGH CHAIR ATTACHMENT FOR STEP STOOLS Filed April 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORJH Wk/A/G M. mow/v 1 BY I 2,963,076 HIGH CHAIR ATTACHMENT FOR STEP STOOLS Irving M. Hyman, Bronx, NY. (13-10 Fairclough Place, Fair Lawn, NJ.)

Filed Apr. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 731,234

4 Claims. c1.1ss--4z The present invention is directed to a high chair attachment for step stools, and more particularly to a relatively simple and low cost attachment for converting a conventional step stool into a useful high chair in which infants may be seated and fed.

There has long been a need for a simple, low cost, and readily portable high chair attachment for converting step stools into a high chair which may be safely used by small infants. A number of such attachments have heretofore been suggested, but in the main, such attachments are not practical because of either their complexity, or their inutility to safely serve their intended purpose. Thus, it is absolutely essential that an acceptable high chair attachment for step stools should be of the simplest possible construction consonant with being safe for use by small infants, and should include the feature of being readily installable by even the least skilled mother upon a step stool.

This invention has an object the provision of a novel high chair attachment for step stools.

This invention has as another object the provision of a high chair attachment for step stools which may be readily installed and removed by even the least skilled of persons.

This invention has as a further object the provision of a high chair attachment which converts a conventional step stool into a safe and useful high chair.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and instrumentalities shown.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the high chair attachment of the present invention installed upon a step stool.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary elevational view revealing the high chair attachment of the present invention installed upon a step stool.

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view revealing the mode of attachment of the high chair attachment of the present invention to the step stool.

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, the high chair attachment of the present invention is designated generally as 10. In Figure 1, it is shown operatively mounted upon the step stool 12 which is a conventional step stool for which no claim of invention is here made other than the modification indicated below which enables the high chair attachment of the present invention to be readily installed upon such step stool.

The step stool 12 includes the seat 14, supported by the legs 16. The steps 18 are pivotably secured intermediate the front two legs 16.

The step stool 12 includes the back portion 20 which comprises a pair of tubular members 22 which extend upwardly from their point of attachment beneath the 2,963,7ii Patented Dec. 6, 1960 seat 14. The tubular members 22 have secured to their uppermost ends the back rest 24.

The legs 16 and tubular members 22 are formed from metal tubing, while the seat 14 and back rest 24 are preferably formed from sheet metal. The steps 18 are preferably formed of sheet metal while the supporting members 26 for the steps 1% are preferably formed of'metal tubing. if desired, the steps 18, seat 14, and back rest 24 may be surfaced with a non-metallic surfacing material.

It is to be understood that the high chair attachment 10 of the present invention may be installed upon a wide variety of step stools, and that step stool 12 is to be deemed merely as illustrative of one embodiment of a step stool upon which the high chair attachment 10 may be mounted.

The high chair attachment 10 comprises the frame 28. The frame 28 is formed of metal tubing and is of generally rectangular shape, with one small side of the rectangle being broken, namely the back portion 30 of the frame 28. The back portion 36 of frame 28 comprises a pair of mirror-image members having dependent lugs 32, which lugs 32 are formed from the flattened tubing comprising the frame 28.

The remainder of frame 28, other than back portion 30, is disposed within a single plane. The high chair attachment lb is provided with a pair of spacer supports 34 and 36, which are identical to each other, and which are formed of shaped metal tubing. Such spacer supports 34 and 36 may be formed in the shape of a U, or as in the illustrated embodiment in the shape of a U having inwardly converging arms. Such spacer supports 34 and 36 are fixedly secured to respectivesides 38 and 40 of frame 28. The spacer supports 34 and 36 are fixedly secured to the underside of the sides 33 and 40. In the illustrated embodiment this is accomplished by providing the spacer supports 34 and 36 with flattened ends 42 which are riveted to the respective sides 38 and 40. However, other techniques for securing the spacer supports 34 and 36 to the frame 28 may be used, including welding.

The tray 44., which may be formed of sheet metal or rigid plastic is secured to the frame 28 by rivets 46. The tray 44 is secured to the front end 48 of frame 28 and to the sides 38 and 4!? of frame 28. The rear edge of the tray 44 is spaced from the back portion 30 of frame 28 a distance somewhat greater than the distance between the back portion 343 of frame 23 and the top of backrest 24 so as to permit the frame 28 to be pivoted over the backrest 24 as shown in. Figure 2.

The strap 5b, which may be of leather or plastic, is secured by rivet 51 to the underside of the front end 48 of frame 28. The strap fifl is positioned in the middle of front end 48 and depends therefrom. The free end portion of strap 50 is provided with the snap fastener element 52 which mates with a mating element disposed on the underside of seat M enabling the frame 28 to be releasably secured in respect to the seat 14.

The frame 28 is pivotably secured to the tubular members 22 of back portion 20 as follows:

The wing bolt 54 passes through a perforation in each of the lugs 32 and a mating perforation in the tubular members 22. A washer 56 is disposed intermediate each of the lugs 32 and its juxtaposed tubular member 22. The wing bolt 54 is secured in position in each instance by the wing nut 58.

This enables the frame 23 to be pivoted in respect to the tubular members 22. from the position shown in full line in Figure 2 in which the frame 28 surrounds the seated child to the position shown in phantom line, in which position the frame 28 is above the backrest 24. The pivoted frame may be hung down at the rear behind the tubular members out of the way when not in use.

The high chair attachment of the present invention may be readily removed or installed upon a standard stepstool. Except for the drilling of the two holes in the tubular members for the attachment, which holes are en tirely innocuous and may be filled by replaceable plugs, no modification whatsoever need be made in the stepstool 12.

The high chair attachment can be built at very low cost, and in fact the combined cost of the high chair attachment and stepstool will normally be less than the single cost of a high chair.

The high chair attachment is light in weight and may be readily stored. Being built almost entirely of metal it is virtually indestructible.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A highchair including a stepstool, said stepstool comprising a seat, steps below said seat, upright tubular members at the rear of said seat, and a backrest carried by said upright tubular members at their upper portions each of said upright members having a crosswise perforation, said perforations being spaced a similar distance below said backrest, and a highchair attachment pivotably secured to said stepstool, said highchair attachment comprising a substantially rectangular frame, the back portion of said frame being split, pierced lugs perpendicularly offset from the free ends of said split back portion, said lugs being juxtaposed to the outside portions of said upright tubular members, pivot means extending through said crosswise perforations in said tubular members and the openings in said lugs connecting said lugs with their adjacent tubular members, spacer support means, depending from the sides of the frame, said spacer support means resting on the uppermost surface of said seat and maintaining said frame generally parallel to the plane of the uppermost surface of said seat, a tray secured to the front portion of said frame, the rear edge of said tray being spaced from said tubular members by a distance greater than the distance between said pivot means and the uppermost edge of said backrest whereby said frame may be pivoted about said pivot means over the top of said backrest, and a strap depending from the front end of said frame, said strap having means for operatively engaging the seat of the stepstool.

2. A highchair in accordance with claim 1 in which the pivot means comprises a bolt secured in position by a nut.

3. A highchair in accordance with claim 2 in which the frame and the spacer support means are both formed from tubular metal.

4. A highchair in accordance with claim 3 in which the tray comprises a flat member riveted to the uppermost portion of the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,710,270 Petersen Apr. 23, 1929 1,738,339 Whiting et al. Dec. 3, 1929 1,954,604 Thomas Apr. 10, 1934 2,083,053 Collins June 8, 1937 2,517,004 Little et al. Aug. 1, 1950 2,547,699 Gelman Apr. 3, 1951 2,572,282 Scanlon Oct. 23, 1951 2,669,285 Young Feb. 16, 1954 2,777,503 Grace Jan. 15, 1957 2,789,631 Vosbikian Apr. 23, 1957 2,900,011 Casey Aug. 18, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 207,416 Great Britain Nov. 29, 1923 944,502 France Nov. 2, 1948 621,711 Great Britain Apr. 14, 1949 

